Church Building Update, January 2018

The journey so far

This month we continue the work of renovating Upland Road to become our new home for Sunday Worship (it is already our home during the week). We thank God for the great amount that was achieved last year; classrooms were demolished, ceilings removed, floors removed, external lighting installed, steel beams fitted, kitchen installation started and much more!

When you enter the building now you walk into an open space full of possibilities. If you close your eyes you can smell the coffee as you walk through the coffee area passing the tables and chairs full of members and visitors getting some quality time in before the meeting (some have been there since last week!). The sofas in the corner behind the tall plants are hosting quieter conversations. A parent emerges from the baby changing room looking relaxed and ready to worship. Fresh coffee jugs emerge from the kitchenette - with cake! From the coffee area you can see through into the main hall – the meeting hasn’t started yet – phew! You pass through the new glass doors into the hall with its new walnut ceiling, LED lighting, Charcoal blue grey carpet and chairs set out for the service. You feel invited in. The worship and sound team have finished setting up and are now praying in the prayer room. Some last minute trays of food for the bring and share meal make their way through the hall to the large kitchen where some animated but very spirit-controlled jokes are being shared. The youth rooms are prepped ready for some God time today - the Spotify playlist is also ready to go. Sunday School has decided to meet outside in the yard and the newly sanded benches are equipped with craft activities and cookies (the latter are just for Paul). I think you get the picture!

Today, the lower ground floor, although by no means finished, has enabled us to meet for prayer and Lightzone each week. The Youth room has been in use since September and is the most advanced of our spaces so far in terms of decoration (we even have a mini fridge and an X-Box installed!).

To get a feel for how the building is being transformed see our updated video walkthrough.

So what’s next?

In January and February we have an extremely full schedule and will be doubling up on Ready-Brek and Red Bull. We will be installing:

A new heating system

New electrics and lighting (in the main hall)

A new ceiling and floor (main hall, coffee area and toilets)

New hall doors

New toilets

Pedestrian side gate

We will also be:

Redecorating the main hall, coffee area and toilets

Completing the new kitchen installation

Completing the refurb of the exterior yard decking & furniture

Further planned work also includes improving the look of the front of the building and erecting new signage.

Final Words

Financial support is still needed to complete the works so thanks for your faithful giving to the work of God. We urgently need volunteers to help with the remaining works (you don’t have to be skilled). Many hands make light work so, if you are available to help, please volunteer your services ASAP. In particular we need lots of help Wed-Sat over the next few weeks so contact Matt or Paul if you can help.